Germany And Poland Are Growing Weary Of Ukrainian Refugees And War

Via Remix News,

New data from Germany and Poland is putting a spotlight on aid to Ukraine, including welcoming refugees who end up receiving benefits from the state. These countries are now asking just how much more they are willing to give.

Ever since Russia’s invasion in 2022, Ukrainian citizens aged 18 to 60 have been able to leave the country only with official permission. But at the end of August, Kyiv decided to liberalize the law, allowing young men aged 18 to 22 to travel abroad. 

According to data from the German Interior Ministry, the number of Ukrainians coming to Germany per week increased from just 19 in August to over 1,000 in September.

In October, the number increased even further to 1,400-1,800 per week.

Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder has now called on the EU to respond to a massive influx of Ukrainian refugees. 

“We must control and significantly limit the rapidly increasing influx of young men from Ukraine,” Söder said in an interview with the Bild daily, as cited by Do Rzeczy.

“The EU and Berlin must influence Ukraine to change its liberalized exit regulations again,” he added. 

A new survey by the INSA Institute for “Bild” has also shown that the majority of Germans do not want to finance benefits for refugees from Ukraine.

Currently, only 17 percent of respondents answered “yes” or “rather yes” to the question about citizenship benefits for refugees from Ukraine. The majority, 66 percent, are against it, and 7 percent of respondents indicated that it makes no difference to them. The remainder either did not answer or selected “don’t know.”

The survey also asked about the idea of ​​mandatory return of Ukrainian men to their homeland to serve at the front. 

Sixty-two percent of respondents believed that able-bodied Ukrainian men who arrived in Germany after the outbreak of the war should be allowed to return to their homeland. Eighteen percent of Germans surveyed opposed this, while 8 percent indicated they were indifferent, and 12 percent did not provide a clear answer.

Over in Poland, there has also been a report published highlighting just how much aid that country has provided to Ukraine. 

Paweł Kowal, Chairman of the Council for Cooperation with Ukraine, presented the “Polish Aid to Ukraine 2022–2023” report on Thursday.

The total cost of free assistance, including training, logistics, repairs, and medical support, exceeded $4 billion by March of this year. In 2022, it reached $1.6 billion, and in 2023-2024, $1.3 billion. Poland has also donated over 19,500 Starlink terminals to the front.

In total, aid for Ukraine represented 3.83 percent of Poland’s GDP. 

The report’s authors, notes Do Rzeczy, also highlighted assistance for Ukrainian refugees, including access to healthcare, the labor market, and the education system. Poland additionally supported Ukrainian entrepreneurs by facilitating their business operations.

The report also notes that Ukraine did purchase €2.2 billion worth of weapons from Poland between 2022 and 2023. 

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